The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency says it has rearrested an 83-year-old woman, Uloma Uchechi Sunday, for alleged drug trafficking in Abia State, less than a year after she was convicted of similar offences.
The agency said the suspect was apprehended on Wednesday, October 7, at her residence in Ite-Uzo, Umuaguma, Obingwa Local Government Area, with consignments of methamphetamine and Colorado, allegedly concealed around her waist with a wrapper.
According to a statement issued on Sunday by the NDLEA Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, the arrest followed intelligence reports linking the suspect to a drug joint allegedly used by criminal elements operating in the community.
Babafemi said the woman was initially arrested on May 17, 2025, alongside her 32-year-old daughter, Chisom Uchechi, at the same residence.
The agency reportedly recovered 50 grammes of methamphetamine, 522 grammes of skunk, 260 grammes of fresh cannabis leaves and 12 grammes of tramadol during the earlier operation.
The statement said both women pleaded guilty and were sentenced to 12 months’ imprisonment or a fine of N200,000 each.
It added that they paid the fines and were subsequently released.
Commenting on the latest arrest, the agency alleged that the octogenarian returned to the illicit drug business after her release.
“Undeterred, the notorious old woman promptly returned to the criminal trade and escalated the scale by setting up a drug joint where she harbours dangerous characters,” the statement said.
In a separate operation, NDLEA operatives arrested a South African national, Gebashe Sithandiwe Jessie, at the Port Harcourt International Airport, Omagwa, Rivers State, for allegedly trafficking 32.74 kilogrammes of Thai Loud, a strain of cannabis.
Babafemi said 30 parcels of the substance were discovered in two travelling bags after the suspect arrived from Thailand through Doha aboard a Qatar Airways flight.
According to the agency, the suspect admitted to previously trafficking drugs through other African countries and attempting to expand her route to Port Harcourt.
At the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos, operatives also intercepted 354,000 tablets of Tapentadol, 250mg, weighing 307.20 kilogrammes in a shipment from Pakistan.
The consignment, which arrived aboard a Royal Air Maroc flight on September 29, was reportedly placed under surveillance before a joint examination on October 6 revealed the drugs concealed in nine cartons.
The agency also intercepted 70 parcels of Colorado weighing 75.90 kilogrammes in a consolidated cargo shipment from the United Kingdom.
A clearing agent, John Edrah, 54, was arrested on September 30, while an Uber driver, Taofiq Ajibola, 54, was apprehended while attempting to collect one of the bags at a logistics company in Mafoluku, Oshodi.
Two other suspects, Adetunji Adebayo and Kazeem Damola Dosunmu, 48, were subsequently arrested when they allegedly arrived to collect the remaining five bags.
Babafemi said Ajibola attributed the shipment to a UK-based associate identified as Lukman Sa’idu, while Dosunmu claimed his consignment came from another UK-based man named Yusuf.
In Cross River State, NDLEA operatives arrested 46-year-old Adama Inuwa at Iyala Nkun village, Ikom Local Government Area, following surveillance.
The operation reportedly led to the seizure of 181 bags of cannabis weighing 1,100 kilogrammes and 17.15 kilogrammes of cannabis seeds.
In Edo State, three suspects — Monday Orji, 52; Monday Lawal, 40; and Precious Uduegele, 20 — were arrested after operatives intercepted a black Toyota Camry conveying 1,049 blocks of compressed cannabis weighing 702.83 kilogrammes at Otuo, Owan East Local Government Area.
Another suspect, 26-year-old Ojugo Mercy, was arrested during a raid at Asoro, off Sakponba Road, Benin City, with 989 grammes of Loud, 13 grammes of Colorado and 83 grammes of methamphetamine.
In Ondo State, a 21-year-old woman, Happy Endurance, was arrested in the Shasha area of Akure with 29 bags of cannabis weighing 290 kilogrammes.
A separate raid at an apartment in Oba-Ile, Akure, led to the arrest of 42-year-old Tunde Adebayo, with 35 bags of cannabis weighing 351 kilogrammes.
The agency also reported the arrest of two suspects, Abdulrasheed Mohamed, 31, and Abubakar Saidu, 37, in Chanchanji village, Wukari Local Government Area of Taraba State, on October 9.
The suspects were allegedly found with 166,200 tablets of tramadol, 225mg, weighing 107 kilogrammes.
In Kano State, a stop-and-search operation along the Kano-Maiduguri Road resulted in the arrest of 32-year-old Yahaya Musa, with 24,990 capsules of tramadol, 50,000 tablets of diazepam and 22,000 tablets of Exol-5.
Similarly, an NDLEA patrol team arrested 29-year-old Mohammed Musa along the Zaria-Kaduna Expressway in Kaduna State, recovering 31 jumbo bags and 775 blocks of skunk weighing a combined 1,027 kilogrammes.
In Lagos, Musbau Balogun Adekunle was arrested in Orile with 32.51 kilogrammes of skunk and 52.65 kilogrammes of cannabis seeds.
In Plateau State, operatives raided the residence of 45-year-old Christian Chukwudi Uju on Rukuba Road, Jos, where they allegedly recovered 47 grammes of methamphetamine, two pump-action rifles, one locally made gun, 199 live cartridges, five rounds of 7.62mm ammunition and one round of 9mm ammunition.
Reacting to the operations, the NDLEA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brigadier General Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), commended personnel across the affected states for their efforts.
Babafemi quoted Marwa as praising the officers “for their professionalism and intelligence-driven approach to the various successful operations.”
The NDLEA chairman also urged personnel to sustain the momentum, calling on them “to continue with the current balanced approach to the drug control efforts of the Agency.”
The agency added that its War Against Drug Abuse sensitisation campaign continued in schools across Oyo, Ebonyi, Niger, Kano, Lagos and Ogun states as part of efforts to educate students and staff about the dangers of drug abuse.
